甲亢哥

What does 甲亢哥 mean?

甲亢哥 (“Hyperthyroid Bro”) is what Chinese netizens call American streamer Darren “IShowSpeed” Watkins Jr., as if only a hormone disorder could explain the non-stop screaming, sprinting and backflipping. The name is affectionate, not insulting: he became one of China's most beloved foreign internet figures, the human version of 抽象 chaos energy. His March–April 2025 China tour turned the nickname into a national phenomenon — livestreams from Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Chongqing drew tens of millions of viewers as he rickshawed through traffic, fought hotpot spice levels and got lovingly mobbed everywhere. Fans joked that he is the only person whose indoor voice is still a shout.

Where does 甲亢哥 come from?

Chinese netizens coined 甲亢哥 when Speed's clips flooded Bilibili around 2022–2023, “diagnosing” his volume as hyperthyroidism. The name went fully mainstream during his March 2025 China tour, which landed right in the middle of the “TikTok refugee” wave and made him an accidental ambassador of people-to-people diplomacy — Chinese and global audiences reacting to the same meltdowns in real time. He embraced the nickname completely, calling himself 甲亢哥 on Chinese platforms.

How to use 甲亢哥

• 甲亢哥在上海被粉丝围得水泄不通。
  Jiǎkànggē zài Shànghǎi bèi fěnsī wéi de shuǐ xiè bù tōng.
  Speed got mobbed by fans the second he hit Shanghai.
• 看完甲亢哥的直播，我耳朵嗡嗡响了一晚上。
  Kànwán Jiǎkànggē de zhíbō, wǒ ěrduo wēngwēng xiǎng le yī wǎnshang.
  After an IShowSpeed livestream, my ears were ringing all night.